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The Ādam Paradox Hypothesis 112
Figure 11.5 — Skhul 5 burial with grave good, ~100 ka (after Garrod & Bate, 1937; McCown &
Keith, 1939).
Illustration of the Skhul 5 individual in flexed burial posture
with a wild-boar mandible placed against the arm/chest—
interpreted as a grave good, indicating early symbolic mortuary
behavior in the Late Middle Pleistocene Levant. Sources
discussing this specific context include Garrod & Bate (1937)
and McCown & Keith (1939), with modern
summaries/figures in Shea (2003) and Been & Barzilai
(2024).
Source: after Garrod & Bate (1937), Plate L; McCown & Keith (1939). Reproduced in subsequent
analyses (see Vanhaeren & d’Errico, 2006).
Europe’s Explosion
If Africa offered sparks and the Levant provided fragile embers, Europe
witnessed a cultural conflagration. With the arrival of Homo sapiens around
45,000 years ago, the record changed overnight. Symbols surged in abundance
and mastery.
The Aurignacian culture, extending from ~45 to 35 ka, introduced an avalanche
of innovations: standardized ornaments, bone and antler points, carved figurines,
and musical instruments. Among the most breathtaking finds is the Lion-Man of
Hohlenstein-Stadel, a 31-centimeter ivory sculpture dated to ~40 ka. The hybrid
figure of human and lion is more than an artwork — it is myth embodied.
Figure 11.6 — The Lion-Man figurine carved from mammoth ivory, Hohlenstein-Stadel, ~40 ka
(after Conard, 2003).
This anthropomorphic figurine combines human and
lion features. Carved from mammoth ivory, it stands
about 31 cm high and is among the oldest known
examples of figurative art. It was reconstructed from
over 200 fragments, some newly excavated. It reflects
advanced symbolic and artistic behavior in Upper
Paleolithic humans.Source: after Conard (2003); Museum Ulm, Germany.